The former VPs Current TV is struggling to catch onand he nearly lost star anchor Keith Olbermann after a breakdown in negotiations in November.

It was early November when tensions between Keith Olbermann and Al Gore escalated into a crisis at Current TV. There had been a short honeymoon after Gore, the channels co-owner, had handed the notoriously temperamental anchor a reported $10 million salary and equity stake in February of last year, but the relationship soured quickly.

Accustomed to the flashy graphics and slick broadcasts of MSNBC, Olbermann balked at the cheap sets and lo-fi production values at the scrappy Current. Ensconced in his New York office, the star ignored emails from the networks West Coast executives. He wanted them to invest more on the technical side, and he wanted more authority in other areas of the network, including personnel decisions. He was also upset about his car service. Gore and his partners had shelled out for a star; now, it seemed, the star owned them.

By November, network executives were exhausted by his antics, according to a source familiar with the inner workings of Current. Olbermann was implacable. Executives feared an ugly, public fight.

Absolutely, morons to waste that kind of money on a no- choice desperate over the hill Olbermann. Only time I ever watched Current TV was a live webcam of Burning Man a few years ago. They did a nice job by doing nothing.

Accustomed to the flashy graphics and slick broadcasts of MSNBC, Olbermann balked at the cheap sets and lo-fi production values at the scrappy Current. Ensconced in his New York office, the star ignored emails from the networks West Coast executives. He wanted them to invest more on the technical side, and he wanted more authority in other areas of the network, including personnel decisions. He was also upset about his car service. Gore and his partners had shelled out for a star; now, it seemed, the star owned them.

This reads like comedy.

11
posted on 02/07/2012 5:39:04 PM PST
by Vision
("Did I not say to you that if you would believe, you would see the glory of God?" John 11:40)

"... but at least Olbermann is making his money the old fashioned way...by screwing someone out of their personal money."

It's so hilarious. Olbermann screwing Al Gore out of ten million bucks. The greed and stupidity of liberals is astounding to behold. I hope greedy Olbermann keeps sweet talking more idiot liberals into wasting their money on his worthless, talentless ass.

Bohrman is now rushing to develop a morning show that could provide a liberal alternative to Morning Joe, which Current executives view as an essentially conservative broadcast.

* * * *

Though hes a ghost in Currents West Coast offices, [Olberman's] spirit suffuses the place. Uygur, who considers him a mentor, describes MSNBC as the house Olbermann built. Granholm calls him the Walt Whitman of political writing.

* * * *

The right wing is so much better organized, theyre machines, theyre robots, says Uygur. And mainstream media are terrified of them. Its like, Oh, my God, if I tell people facts, the Republicans will yell at me, he says.

* * * *

But perhaps the largest gamble is Olbermann himself. Unafraid of conflict on the air, or off, the anchor has a legendary temper. He was caustic and persnickety, former colleagues say. One news report holds that staffers at MSNBC had to communicate with him through a mailbox outside his office.

That reputation has continued at Current TV. Gore and Hyatt managed to placate Olbermann enough in November to prevent him from leaving, but theirs is hardly a close working relationship. Following that episode, the anchor failed to respond to emails from others at the network about plans to cover the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary, according to a network source, and so Bohrman was forced to plan around him. . . When the coverage of Iowa and New Hampshire did air, it featured Uygur and Granholm anchoring alongside Gore himself.

* * * *

Gore, ever politic, presses on. Keith is fulfilling exactly the role that I had hoped for, he told Newsweek in an email interview.

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